India, Jan. 25 -- As Kerala completes its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, chief electoral officer Rathan U Kelkar has defended the exercise amid criticism over workload on booth level officers (BLOs), large-scale issuance of notices, and concerns about errors in the draft rolls.

In a detailed interview with HT, Kelkar addressed the deaths of BLOs that cast a shadow over the process, the Election Commission's refusal to grant Kerala an extension due to the national election calendar, and the challenges caused by limited participation of booth level agents (BLAs) in the initial stages. He explained why nearly 2 million voters received notices despite over 94% of electors being succe...